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Tatar scores late to lift Red Wings past Canucks

Forward's go-ahead goal with 1:14 left gives Detroit fourth win in five games

by
Kevin Woodley
/ NHL.com Correspondent

VANCOUVER --Tomas Tatar stopped worrying about getting his 200th NHL point during a seven-game scoring slump, and when he finally did reach the milestone, he was just happy it resulted in a win for the Detroit Red Wings.

Tatar scored with 1:14 left in the third period to lift the Red Wings to a 3-2 win against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena on Monday.

After winning a face-off for Detroit in the Vancouver zone, Dylan Larkin passed the puck from the blue line down to Justin Abdelkader, who one-touched it to Tatar for a quick shot under goalie Jacob Markstrom's blocker from the right circle for his first point in eight games.

"I just tried to get it out of my mind, trying to play simple but obviously in a big win that feels pretty good, I guess," Tatar said of the milestone. "I feel like in this moment the most important thing for us is two points."

Martin Frk and Darren Helm scored, and Jimmy Howard made 26 saves for the Red Wings (8-7-1), who have won four of five after a six-game losing streak.

"Over the last four games we paid a lot better attention to detail," Howard said. "We're doing a good job on the road of keeping it simple, and when we get our opportunities, we are burying them."

Daniel Sedin and Michael Del Zotto scored for the Canucks 2:14 apart in the third period to tie the game 2-2, but the Red Wings, who were coming off a 4-0 win against the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday, responded with six of the next seven shots before Tatar scored.

"We started playing really good hockey again," Tatar said. "When you have a two-goal lead, you are trying to sit back, play careful. they eventually tied it up, but we just started playing again, started buzzing again."

Markstrom made 26 saves for Vancouver (7-5-2), which has lost three of its past four games.

"It hurts," said Canucks defenseman Ben Hutton, who had Tatar's shot on the game-winner deflect off his stick. "We showed good character coming back from being down two."

Helm gave Detroit a 1-0 lead when he scored off the rebound of a Frans Nielsen shot 4:02 into the first period.

Frk was credited with the power-play goal that made it 2-0 with 4:45 left in the second period after Canucks defenseman Christopher Tanev shot the puck into his own net. Frk's slap shot from the high slot bounced off bodies before hitting Markstrom's right pad and bouncing to his right. Tanev tried to clear the loose puck while battling Red Wings forward Anthony Mantha at the side of the net, but Mantha hit his stick, causing him to play it into the open net.

Sedin scored 7:16 into the third period, and Del Zotto tied it 2-2 with his first goal of the season at 9:30, taking a drop pass from Bo Horvat, deking around Tatar and beating a screened Howard high on the blocker side.

"I thought overtime would probably be fair tonight for both teams, but they have good offensive guys on their team and made us pay," Sedin said.

Highlight of the game

They said it

"I do think we are starting to build an identity, and the quicker we play, the more we can play attacking, the more we can get it in their end and the less we try to play slow and the more we manage the puck, the better we will be." -- Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill on winning four of their past five games

"We fought back and did a good job. It shows our resiliency and character in here. It's unfortunate we give that one up with [1:14] left. It's a learning experience for us. We have to find a way to at least find a point and hopefully get the second one in overtime or shootout." -- Canucks defenseman Michael Del Zotto

Need to know

Red Wings forward Gustav Nyquist played after leaving the game against the Oilers on Sunday following a knee-on-knee collision with Edmonton defenseman Eric Gryba in the first period. … Thatcher Demko backed up Markstrom after Anders Nilsson left the arena shortly before the game because his fiancee was expecting a baby. Coach Travis Green did not have an update after the game, and he did not name a starting goalie against the Calgary Flames on Tuesday. ... Green challenged Frk's goal, claiming interference against Markstrom, but it was upheld by video review.

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